Garden furniture- do you cover it every night?

[Yellownotblue]

We have wooden patio furniture (from IKEA, no less 😁). We religiously keep it covered overnight. But removing the cover is such a faff that we nearly never use it.

Does it really have to be covered every night this time of year? Will a bit of rain damage it?

There are no cushions or fabric to protect, it’s just wood.

Thank you

I cover mine every night, takes a couple of minutes and keeps the bird poo off.

Nope! I only cover it in the winter. What you're doing seems excessive. My furniture is perfectly fine after being rained on.

Always been uncovered. Each year I just sand it a little and wood stain again

Thank you! I really want to take the covers off for the summer, it looks awful and I hate it.

Ours is teak and we've never covered it once in 20 years. It's fine.

What are you covering it with, a plastic thing?

Nope, I don't cover ours. I'd hate to look out and see that! I don't leave cushions out though.

No, I like to go out first thing with the first hot drink of the day and I just wouldn't be bothered if I had to take the cover off. We have one of those cube table and chair arrangements though where all the chairs, footstools and cushions are stored under the table.

We don't cover ours either. The lady we bought it off advised us not to - she said it encourages mould to grow.

We treat it twice a year with teak oil and give it a power wash and a light sanding before summer so the surface is nice and smooth and doesn't catch on your clothes.

We've had it 7 or 8 years now and it's still in great condition.

What do people do with the outdoor sofas with cushions? Take the cushions in and out each day?

We don't cover the furniture (rattan with wooden legs/frame but we've got a black storage locker thing for the cushions! In the winter we fully cover

We have outdoor sofas so we have to cover our furniture every day. Ditto the parasol. It is a bit of a pain but I don't want birds etc crapping in there - it's amazing how much mucky stuff seems to get on them via snails etc getting in under the cover (shudder). In the winter we store the cushions in our barn attic, which is clean and dry.

I’m so glad I asked the question. I just want to sit outside with my morning coffee.

Tomorrow the cover is coming off until the autumn.

Oh, we don't cover our sofas either, just put the cushions away in a storage box overnight, in summer they are left out overnight if no rain is forecast. We don't have covers for those or our parasol. Any bits would get brushed off but to be honest there never are any bits apart from on one sofa which is near a tree. The parasol is too tall to be able to get a cover on.

We've got the fabric type that can be left out in all weather so we leave it out and just give it a sweep or a jet wash. We do have covers for it but only use them in the winter.

I used to be quite meticulous about covering my garden furniture every night, especially when I first got it. Over time, I've relaxed a bit. I generally cover it when I know it's going to rain or if the weather forecast mentions bad weather. If it’s just a clear night, I usually leave it uncovered. It’s made from materials that can handle a bit of dew or moisture, so I'm not too worried. I think it's a good habit to cover it if you want to keep it in top shape for longer. If you're looking for more details on the pros and cons of covering garden furniture, you can see here for some useful insights. Ultimately, it depends on the climate in your area and the type of furniture you have.

My husband owns a garden furniture business which you can see here so we have lots of nice items in the garden. We only really cover them when its raining as its a pain to cover / uncover on a daily basis when in use.

Buy proper furniture next time (teak or galvanised steel) not IKEA garbage.

@Papricat you’ve come on a 3 year old thread to call my furniture garbage? That’s so thoughtful of you. Maybe slow down on the vino tonight?

BTW, the IKEA furniture is still going strong 💪🏼